Word: shying
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...leader of Amal, Berri at first did little to oppose the Israeli invasion and occupation of southern Lebanon. As a Minister in Lebanon's so-called government of National Unity, he participated in negotiations aimed at getting Israel to withdraw from southern Lebanon although many Shi'ites felt that Lebanon should not even talk to the Israelis. He and his Amal militiamen helped secure the release of one American and a Frenchman kidnaped by extremists early last year. Berri has continued to attend Lebanese Cabinet meetings, even though many of his followers have wanted nothing to do with the central...
...center but only because the center moved. He's not an extremist, but he's shown that he's quite willing to escalate his language -- and his actions -- to retain his position of authority in the Shia community." Still, there is no doubt that Berri feels deeply about the Shi'ites held by Israel and is as determined as his followers to get them released...
Berri's display of radicalism has not made his hold on power any more secure. Despite being a devout Muslim who prays daily and shuns alcohol, he believes in separation of church and state. That puts him at odds with the Shi'ite Party of God, which advocates an Islamic state. Many of his own Amal militiamen carry pictures of Iran's Ayatullah Ruhollah Khomeini on leather thongs around their necks. Says one Washington intelligence source with expertise on the Lebanese Shi'ites: "Berri may be well known and popular among Shi'ites, but if you ask, 'Does he have...
...Flight 847, ABC Correspondent Charles Glass received an urgent call from his network: Would he leave London immediately for Beirut? Glass, who was stationed in Beirut last year, quickly boarded a chartered jet and arrived there Saturday morning. On Monday, while filming in the city's teeming Shi'ite slums, he was suddenly caught in a storm of bullets. Only by surrendering his tape was Glass permitted to drive away. Two days later, however, came the scoop of the week: after persistent requests from ABC, Amal Leader Nabih Berri arranged for Glass to interview the crew still aboard...
...Angered by the chaos, an Amal spokesman abruptly ended the proceedings, which only triggered more shouting and shoving. Militiamen pounced on photographers and reporters, smashing cameras and seizing tape recorders. Fifteen minutes later, after the journalists promised to maintain calm, the session was resumed. In another incident, a Lebanese Shi'ite driver working for Newsweek reached the plane by passing himself off as a relative of the hijackers'. As the driver returned to the terminal, Amal militiamen discovered the ruse and angrily fired bullets over the heads of about 40 journalists...